Any ideas why this does not work, or am I just out of luck?

instead of using this to compile the wrapper:

debian/rules binary-modules

debian/rules binary-utils

try with:

make uninstall

make

make install

i dont have others distributions so i dont

know if it will work.

adapter: WMP54G (PCI) 802.11g

system: Debian etch / kernel 2.6.12-1-686

1) install kernel headers:

apt-get install linux-headers-2.6.12-1-686

(make sure you have gcc too)

2) download ndiswrapper from

http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/

i got the 1.7 version:

ndiswrapper-1.7.tar.gz

3) compile and create ndiswrapper package (root access needed)

cd /download/path/to/ndiswrapper

tar -xzvf ndiswrapper-1.7.tar.gz

cd ndiswrapper-1.7

debian/rules binary-modules

debian/rules binary-utils

cd ..

that will create the .deb packages for your kernel.

4) install debian packages for ndiswrapper

dpkg -i ndiswrapper-modules-2.6.12-1-686_1.7-1_i386.deb ndiswrapper-utils_1.7-1_i386.deb

5) search for the windows driver:

i used the one from the CD:

cd /media/cdrom0/Drivers/WMP54Gv4

(contents: rt2500.cat rt2500.inf rt2500.sys)

6)  install the driver:

ndiswrapper -i rt2500.inf

ndiswrapper -l

it should say:

rt2500 driver present, hardware present

if it doesn’t say that, remove the driver

with the -e option (man ndiswrapper for details)

and try another driver

7) insert the module in the kernel:

modprobe ndiswrapper

there was no errors so i checked the result

with the dmesg command:

dmesg

the output was:

ndiswrapper version 1.7 loaded (preempt=no,smp=no)

ndiswrapper: driver rt2500 (Cisco-Linksys ,LLC.,03/27/2004, 2.02.03.0000) loadedPCI: Found IRQ 11 for device 0000:00:09.0

ndiswrapper: using irq 11

wlan0: vendor: ‘IEEE 802.11g Wireless Card.’

wlan0: ndiswrapper ethernet device using driver rt2500, .5.conf

wlan0: encryption modes supported: WEP; TKIP with WPA; AES/CCMP with WPA

and to be sure, i checked that the PCI device (0000:00:09.0) was the right one:

lspci -vv

output (useless lines omited):

0000:00:09.0 Network controller: RaLink Ralink RT2500 802.11 Cardbus Reference Card (rev 01)

Subsystem: Linksys Linksys WMP54G 2.0 PCI Adapter

8) loading ndiswrapper at boot:

ndiswrapper -m

9) install waproamd:

apt-get install waproamd

and configure it to manage the wlan0 interface

(or your wlanX if you have other wireless adapters)

10) edit the /etc/network/interfaces file and add:

auto wlan0

iface wlan0 inet dhcp

i have my wireless router to bradcast the ssid,

so i don’t need other parameters, check

http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/mediawiki/index.php/InstallDebian

for more details on editing the interfaces file.

In the future i will try to install some protection like WPA,

i will post here the details.

hope this information was usefull

Regards,

Luis.

lpena at tyto dot ciens dot ucv dot ve

Using binaries for drivers is a very stupid idea, it slows down progress, your system, and is not likely to be compatible with the next linux release.

Broadcom nor Atheros are likely to change their policy, unless we show it in massive return rates.

I made sure a major distributor switched to selling a Prism54 alternative on just about every product where Linksys includes a broadcom chip.

1) There are actually native Linux driver support for 802.11a/b/g. And that comes from a dear old friend of all linux users…Intersil.
The newer Prism4 series (PrismGT/Duette) 802.11g chipsets have full GPLed drivers released by Intersil itself, with full support for wirless extensions and monitor mode.
If you do buy a card for Linux I suggest that you run through the compatible cards list on prism54.org to confirm your selection.
My Dell Inspiron just got a $120 Broadcom BC4301 based Dell Truemobile 1300 a/b/g MiniPCI card replaced by a $43 PrismGT powered Xterasys XG600 MiniPCI card. Guess what? After I load prism54 drivers in on Slack 9? Works like a charm. None of that sissy linuxant/ndiswrapper BS. Full features.

2. The Linksys WRT54G AP/router does NOT use a Broadcom chipset. They use an Intersil PrismGT (Not sure if nitro mode is enabled), which makes it perfectly kosher to have its code released on GPL.